National Women's Coalition for Life Statement of Commitment

National Women's Coalition for Life

4/3/1992

The National Women's Coalition for Life was founded in April, 1992 as an educational, non-sectarian coalition of existing national women's organizations.

In his Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, the Holy Father called for a new feminism, which acknowledges the sanctity of life. Priests for Life salutes the NWCL and all those who work for this new, authentic feminism, which is a key element to the new Culture of Life.

Today 4, 400 American children will die from abortion. They will never be held, giggle, or play house. They will never go to school, read a book, learn a nursery rhyme. They will never hold jobs, never vote, never have families, and never have dreams. Some of these children will lose their lives because their mothers are scared, and have lost hope of overcoming their isolation, poverty or youth. Other children will die because they are sick, handicapped, or "not quite right". Today, some American children will even lose their lives because they are little girls and their parents hoped that they would be little boys. These children will not be given names, and their deaths will not be marked by anything more than the grief their mothers and families will one day feel.

But these children are not forgotten. The tragedy of ending these lives today and everyday cannot be overlooked, justified, or ignored. Today, the National Women's Coalition for Life speaks on behalf of the children of America and their mothers. We are a coalition of over 1.5 million women from all over the country, from all age groups, political ideologies, and experiences. We are single and married women. We are women with and without children. We are birthmothers and mothers of adopted children. We are full time parents, working women, and heads of households. We are women who have had abortions, and even women who have been raped, or who were conceived in rape. Yet we are all committed to societal change which supports the critical role of motherhood and reflects the dignity of the life of every child.

We are tired of the rhetoric which denies the humanity of children yet-to-be born, and asks us to forget who they are, and what they might become. We know what motherhood feels like. Through modem technology, we have seen our children before birth and heard their hearts beating. We have felt them alive within us. We will not be told that they are not there.

We have seen that ending lives through abortion does not solve anything. We have lived through 19 years of abortion on demand. Over that time, we have watched more women and children slip into poverty, and witnessed a rise in child abuse and infant mortality. We see that resources used for abortion sap precious resources from and disguise real issues. We know that many women seek abortion in desperation: Unable to eliminate the real crises in their lives, they do what society suggests will work; they eliminate their children. And their poverty, their pain, their despair continue.

And we refuse to believe that children's lives must be lost so that women can be free. We well remember that many times in human history, even in our lifetime, human beings--whether black, Jew, or female, the handicapped or the elderly--have been discriminated against and dehumanized. Today, we are witnessing the ultimate dehumanization of the most defenseless class of people--unborn children. We must learn from these grave injustices. We will not stand idly by while our government and our society urge us to treat unborn children as property. We know that women are better than this. We know that real women's rights mean a societal commitment to the unique roles women are living out, including motherhood. We will not give up our right to motherhood, nor will we trivialize its responsibilities.

We will not tolerate being told that abortion is a simple and safe procedure. We know the pain women and families face after an abortion. We know the physical scars that render many women sterile after this procedure. We know that hundreds of women have died, and will continue to die from legal abortion. We have seen the ugliness of the abortion industry from the inside. We have been there, and we grieve for those women who also have been victimized by it. We seek to console aborted women, and to bring an end to the deceit and greed which define the abortion business.

The National Women's Coalition for Life will not remain silent while society looks away from the children and women abortion destroys. Furthermore, we will not tolerate misrepresentation by a vocal minority of women who claim to speak for us on a national level. American women deserve more.

Within the National Women's Coalition is a place for all women who realize that when society's answer for families in distress and women in crisis is to encourage them to dispose of their children, something is drastically wrong. We welcome women who recognize that each of us is imperfect, and that a person's worth is not conferred on them by others, but is an inherent part of being human. We welcome women who understand the responsibilities that are a part of womanhood, and motherhood. We have a place for all women who seek real women's rights, who work to eliminate discrimination, mistreatment, and who understand that abortion only blinds us to these real issues. And we welcome women who have become abortion's other victims.

Today, we redouble our efforts in the many services we offer to heal the wounds of abortion, and reach out in compassion to women and families in pain. We will continue to provide emotional, financial, medical, and practical support to women and families who are facing parenthood with limited resources. And we will communicate to the people of America, including our elected officials and community leaders, what we know is the truth: The answer to crisis pregnancy is to eliminate the crisis, not the child. Abortion kills.